NEW DELHI: India has deployed MiG-29 and Jaguar fighter jets for the multi-nation `Desert Flag’ exercise at UAE, with the IAF keeping up the momentum of taking part in such international air combat drills to further hone its war-fighting skills.
The Desert Flag-10 exercise, at the Al Dhafra air base from April 21 to May 8, will also witness the participation of air forces of the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkey.
“The aim of the exercise is to undertake complex and diverse fighter engagements, with exchange of operational knowledge and best practices with some of the most capable air forces in the world,” IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Jaideep Singh.

IAF MiG-29
“Participation in such exercises enhances mutual understanding, interoperability, and strengthens military cooperation among the participating nations. IAF’s participation underscores India’s commitment to strengthening defence ties and interoperability with friendly nations in the region and beyond,” he added.
The exercise comes soon after India offered the indigenous Akash air defence missile system to the UAE, even as the two countries decided to step-up their bilateral defence cooperation in fields ranging from military exercises to defence-industrial collaboration, in a meeting between defence minister Rajnath Singh and Dubai crown prince and UAE deputy PM Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on April 8.
This is in keeping with India’s ongoing thrust to export the Akash system, Pinaka multi-launch rocket systems and the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to “friendly countries”, especially in the Gulf and Asean regions.
Significantly, apart from bilateral military exercises and initiatives, India and UAE have also teamed up with France to collaborate in a trilateral framework launched in 2022 in several areas including defence, technology, energy and environment, in tune with an ambitious roadmap chalked out by them.
In the military arena, the three countries in December last year had conducted a major air combat exercise `Desert Knight’ over the Arabian Sea to strengthen trilateral defence cooperation and enhance military interoperability amid the ongoing geopolitical churn.
The navies of the three countries had also conducted their first-ever maritime partnership exercise to hone their combat skills against traditional as well as non-traditional threats through a wide spectrum of operations on the high seas in June 2023.